Former SoCal Cop Arrested on Sex Charges

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CN) – A former San Bernardino police officer was arrested Thursday and charged with forcing two women to have sex or oral sex with him while he was in uniform and carrying a gun. Jose Jesus Perez, 46, of Menifee, Calif., was arrested in Denton, Texas, and was to appear in Federal Court today (Friday) in Sherman, Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement. A federal grand jury returned a sealed, four-count indictment against Perez on Wednesday, prosecutors said. The indictment, which was unsealed after Perez was arrested, claims he had forcible sex with two women “who told investigators that they engaged in the sex acts demanded by Perez only because they feared for their well-being because he was a police officer,” according to the U.S. attorney in Riverside. Perez worked for the Los Angeles Police Department from 1997 until 2008, when he went to work for the San Bernardino Police Department. Prosecutors said Perez “was released from employment” in December 2012 by the San Bernardino police. Perez could face up to life in prison if convicted of any of the four counts against him.